Donatello huffed with crossed arms as he glared at his red-masked brother. It had only been about an hour since he was capable of making the sound, but that was irrelevant right now.
"Are you still pouting?" Raphael asked.
"I can't believe you used the missiles!" Don complained.
"Genius, I'm done defending myself. I did what I had to in order to help our friends, end of story. You and Leo are gonna have to get over this."
Donny shook his head. "I'm not going to 'get over' missing that, Raph."
His brother grinned at him. "I'm sorry you didn't get to do it, Donny, but those Akiudo weren't gonna wait for me to come get you."
The purple-masked turtle sighed and cleared his throat painfully. He couldn't obtain very much power with his voice, but it was still an amazing feeling to be able to speak. The happiness over that fact was tempered with the irritation over the Akiudo's attack, and the news that the gang had cleanly escaped.
The media feed he'd read only mentioned one dead, and indicated that the police hadn't caught up with any of the shooters. In the back of his mind, Donatello was worried about the possibility of retaliation on the Akiudo's part for the destruction of the SUVs, but he wasn't going to say that to his brothers.
"You okay, Donny?" Raphael's voice lost some of its normal gruffness as he addressed him. "Do you need something?"
"I need a lot of things, Raph, but they aren't something you can bring me," he said honestly.
"You sure? I could make another trip to the surface," he offered impishly.
Donatello cracked a smile. "You'd have to go through Leo first."
"Seriously, Don. This is your chance to ask for anything or say whatever's been on your mind for months. What are you thinking?"
"I wish we had a real lead on the Akiudo," he answered.
"Maybe we do, Donny. I mean, Greg and Sayuri brought those drives back. Maybe there's something on them."
"I don't know…" Donatello faltered. It seems to me that if the Agency was all that important to them, they would have been keeping a closer eye on the business. They could have been watching I suppose – it would explain how they found Greg. But what made them hesitate for so long to make a move?
Donny wanted to dive right into the flashdrives with both feet, but Luke wouldn't allow it. The man didn't even want him talking very much, but the turtle wasn't willing to relinquish the sweet freedom. He was surprised that Luke hadn't already returned to the room to break up the conversation he was having with Raphael.
He was intrigued that his brother had stayed for this long too, and it made him wonder what he was thinking. As he glanced over at Raphael now, his brother's amber eyes appeared to be glazed over.
"Maybe I shoulda just went for the kill, Donny, and unloaded more firepower on them. I couldn't have made it much worse than I already did."
Donatello shook his head. "I've given you a hard time, but it's mostly because I would have liked to see the missile system I designed in action. It sounds like you played it as safely as you could have. You didn't destroy any private property besides the Akiudo's transportation, and you didn't let any civilians get a look at what the Battleshell is capable of. If there was a place to unload the big guns, the docks are one of the best locations I can imagine."
Raphael seemed uncertain as he looked up. "You think I did the right thing? God knows we're gonna have our shells chewed off by Kelley for it. I'll tell him that it was my doing, that I was the one who flew off the handle."
"With the weapons system I created and installed," Don said wryly. "It doesn't seem like you flew off the handle, Bro. You defended our friends the best way you could think of, and you destroyed their ability to follow you. The Akiudo could have brought that firestorm back inside the neighborhoods. Tactically speaking, you did the right thing, Raph."
His brother exhaled softly. "Thanks, Genius. I think I needed to hear that."
"Don't worry about Kelley," Donny advised him. "We'll face him together, and everything will be okay."
The red-masked turtle smirked as he patted his arm. "What's say I kick myself outta here before Doc does?"
Donatello smiled in return. "Sure. Why not surprise him for a change?"
"Shell, it's good to hear your voice again, Don."
"It's nice to have a voice," he replied.
Raphael rose with a stretch, and cracked his neck from side to side. "Well…I'll see ya in the morning, Bro."
"I'll still be here." Donatello settled back against his pillow as his brother left. Where else can I go, he asked himself. Doesn't this just figure? I get my voice back, but I'm still moaning about being too laid up to chase the Akiudo. I wish I could focus on being grateful, but I can't stop thinking about that gang.
They're out there, and they tried to take Greg tonight. They attempted to gun down our friends. The Akiudo have never used rifles like that before, but they've never used chemical weapons on civilians either. At least, not that we're aware of. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment.
They've had months, well over a year and a half to regroup their efforts, but where has their energy gone? What's their real objective? It could drive me crazy to lie here and wonder about their new methods for destroying people's lives. I'm definitely not going to figure it out tonight, he resigned silently.
I'm going to have plenty to do tomorrow between reviewing the flashdrives and doing some additional background on that girl they picked up. Shell. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Part of me feels sorry for her, and the other part is hoping she doesn't prove to be a liability.
Donatello had tried to picture what Jazz could look like based on Leonardo's description, but he had a feeling his imagination wouldn't do her justice. She's probably going to lose her job over all this. The thought made him groan. We have to find a way to make things right, and to keep her safe. Open enrollment in the Club is back in session. I just hope we can trust an ex-con.
He rolled his eyes. I haven't even met her, he chided himself. It sounds like she's supporting herself with an honest job. Why do we have to be so suspicious of everyone? I guess being a five-foot-tall mutated turtle might have something to do with it.
Donny shifted onto his side as he heard the space heater kick on again, reveling in the increased warmth that made him feel both more comfortable and wearier at the same time. He'd had it in mind to stay awake until Doc returned, with the intention of peppering the man with a few more questions. That might be why he's staying away, he told himself.
Despite the circumstances of the evening, he was still able to rest his head in relative peace, knowing that the girls and kids had made it to Lotus Salvus, and their other friends were safe for another day. Take what you can get and be happy for it, he thought drowsily, right before drifting off.
When Donatello stirred, he couldn't be sure how many hours had passed. He turned his head to the right and saw his raven-haired wife slouched over a desk chair. Her dark waves were falling so that they covered almost half of her face, but he could tell that she was asleep.
He sighed quietly. I wonder if she's getting any real sleep on her own. I have no way of checking up on her, he thought ruefully. Donatello reached for his phone to find out what time it was. After 9am. That's later than I expected. It still sounds quiet, but I guess that's normal after the evening everyone had.
For a few seconds, he considered waking up Jenna. His first instinct was not to bother her, but with the recovery of his voice, he couldn't resist calling out to her. "Jen. Jenna."
The woman's head jerked up, and she brushed her hair back off her face. "Hey, you," she said affectionately. "How does the throat feel?"
"It's okay; I'm still really dry."
Jenna looked around the room until she spotted a water bottle on the desk, and brought it over to him. The woman smiled as he eagerly consumed about a quarter of the contents. "I bet you're hungry too."
Donatello gave her a pained look. The inability to swallow properly had required him to live off the IV for everything, and he was thoroughly sick of it. "You have no idea. I could go for a full-on feast, but I know Doc will force me to take it easy."
"He knows best," she reminded him, and released a satisfied-sounding sigh. "Babe, it's great to hear your voice. You've had it so hard that I didn't want to complain, but I've missed talking to you. I missed it a lot."
"I missed it too." He grinned, motioning for her to come closer.
Jenna leaned over the bed where he could reach her, and he brushed a hand over her hair, enjoying the feeling of the silky strands. Her light blue eyes gazed at him longingly, and he felt an intense stirring of pity. Jen's had to be strong for both of us. She deserves a break. He looked back at her silently, marveling over all the curves of her face.
"You're incredible, Jen. I don't know what I'd do without you here. But you're taking care of yourself too, aren't you?"
She gave him a withering smile. "Right to the point? You wouldn't just let me enjoy this for a few minutes."
He gave her a mock stern look. "Jen, I'm not trying to ruin anything. You're exhausted. I can tell you haven't been sleeping. I'm only asking you to get the proper amount of rest. Isn't that what you get on my case about?"
"I'm not the coffee-addicted night owl who spends all hours looking for trouble on the surface in between programming."
"No, you're not. You're my beautiful wife who's worried about me. I've given you plenty to be anxious about over the past few weeks, but things are improving."
Jenna gave him a probing look. "I can see that, Donny, but some of the mental images I have of you are going to stay with me for a long time."
"It's never that simple for everything to go back to normal, is it?"
"Things can't be normal – not with the Akiudo roaming free to threaten the city, and our family broken up into pieces."
Donatello swallowed. "Nobody likes it when we're separated, Jen. We just have to slog through it until the guys can find the gang. I'll do everything I can to help from here, but I'm still…limited." Frustration pulsed in the back of his mind. I've been lucky to find any information at all, and so far it hasn't done them any good. Shell, I don't know what they'll do when they come up against a real technical challenge.
"Your brothers will work this out," Jenna said, reading his mind. "I know you feel a strong burden when it comes to assisting them, but there are unconventional ways around these things."
He folded his arms. "You mean like using the van as a battering ram?"
Jenna grinned. "Desperate times, Donny," she reminded him. "It worked, didn't it?"
"You're lucky you didn't get shot."
"Are you ever going to give me a little bit of credit? I know you don't want me anywhere near the danger, but sometimes we don't have that luxury, Don. When we need all hands on deck, you've got to accept that the 'civilians' have a part to play too."
Donatello was quiet as he brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. "You seem to be under the impression that I think you're weak, Jenna."
"I know I don't belong in the middle of one of your fights—"
"Jen, hear me out. You think I underestimate what you can do physically, and that's not true. We've been through this before. My brothers and I fight because we have to—"
"I'm not a warrior, so I shouldn't try to protect you," she interrupted shortly.
"That's not what I said."
"It's what you mean."
"No. What I mean is that it would kill me to lose you. I'm selfish in that sense, Jen. I'd rather die a thousand different ways than have to live without you. Any time that my brothers or I pull you back, it's only because you mean so much to us. There aren't many people who could handle living inside our world…and I don't think there's anyone else who could fill this space in my life."
"You have to let me be 'selfish' sometimes, Don, because I don't want to live in a world that doesn't include you either."